Kanade Japanese Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Sydney

Kanade has positioned its raw bar under a striking red timber cage reminiscent of a torii gate that marks the entrance to a Shinto shrine. Watch the action from a ringside bar stool, or nestle into more intimate tables set at the edges between floor length red drapes. To my palate, the stars of this show come from the restaurant’s regular kitchen and a team of chefs who have spent time in Sydney venues including Lumi Dining. They use their skills to unite Japanese and Italian culinary traditions in tasty, accessible ways. Solo diners should skip straight to the menu hero—wagyu beef steak with yakiniku sauce ($45). Slices of tender, tasty steak cooked sous vide for beautifully set pink interiors, sit on rocket and tomato chutney-spiked beef jus under a hat of the world’s thinnest enoki French fries.

With an overflowing sake box of Mutsu-Hassen Tokubetsu junmai red label sake ($45/180ml) showing both sourness and mellowness in equal measure, that’s your post-work Wednesday night dinner taken care of. There’s also a decent selection of wines from quality winemakers including those at Onannon and Scotchmans Hill that’d suit the roasted duck breast ($28). In this one, artfully presented pink slices of duck meat with blackened corn salad are dragged through a smear of black sesame and yuzu glaze, offering up great bite-through and flavour. Follow it with a bowl of mentaiko spaghetti ($22) where spicy cod roe clings to well-cooked spaghetti alongside shredded egg (kinshi), crisp nori and shiso.

If you dine with colleagues or friends, bust out shots from a sake cask ($45). Loaded up with coconut rum, pineapple rum, Cointreau and absinthe, it’s more Japanese tiki than elegant sake-based cocktail, but I rate it as a drink. Thick-cut tuna, salmon, scallop and kingfish sashimi in a sinking cloud of dry ice gives the premium sushi selection ($38) a bit of a wow-factor, though I preferred eating the spicy volcano roll ($19). Arranged around salad, this easily shareable collection of crab salad sushi with torched salmon toppers sit under a thick, spicy orange mayonnaise. Some wasabi provides excellent cut-through. With Japanese-Italian fusion tempura joining the menu in the next few weeks, Kanade is worth adding to your future...

We had a night off parenting and head into the city for dinner. Kurt did a google search to find what was in the area we were headed to and came across Kanade, a new Japanese restaurant in Sydney’s CBD on Clarence Street. We made a booking online and found the venue easily. The restaurant is quite expansive with a few intimate tables separated by red curtains as well stools at the sushi counter or bar.

We start with drinks and manager was really helpful in cocktail advice. Although there were heaps of great options on the menu, he was also keen to make according to preference. I like sweet, a tad sour and also egg whites and he made up a great one, presented in one of their cute cups with a flower. A lot of the drinks come served with smoking theatrics too. He also presented us with a Tequilla shot for fun. You could easily just come here for a few drinks.

Their menu is a range of cold and hot starters, sashimi, sushi and larger mains, as well as some daily specials. They even do Japanese style spaghetti; like their version of Carbonara. We didn’t order this, but it looked really good!

I really wanted the duck that I’d seen on some bloggers’ coverage but it was a special that had since ended, however, we were lucky that a new special also took our fancy - the miso toothfish. A beautiful piece of fish, cooked perfectly. We also shared the sashimi salad, that comes with the dressing on the side, nicely presented, though the tiny diced sashimi is hard to eat for those hot experienced with chopsticks. We also had their cabbage salad that was surprisingly moreish in a good way. The shio limbo and sesame oil kept us going back for more and more.

After this, we shared an eggplant and zucchini dish, nicely flavoured, though could have done with a touch longer on the grill. When looking at other diners’ orders, the sushi looks great and the wagyu beef is a must order next time.

The variety here is quite good and we felt the menu was reasonably priced. Everything came out with food efficiency and staff were eager to please. We hope you make a visit and enjoy your...

First heard of Kanade via a Facebook ad and came out having a wonderful lunch.

Upon entering the premise, i was greeted with the sight of the open-air kitchen (for sushi preparation) that was framed by red support beams that really reminded me of the red torii gates found at Japanese shinto shrines. A very nice touch of Japan that while minimal, felt classy. No random collage of random Japanese imagery/art in sight to ruin the more subdued mature vibes of the restaurant.

Service was very friendly and attentive with quick acknowledgements by the staff who were quick to respond to cues of when i wanted their attention.

I was seated at the counter and before placing my order i saw many dishes prepared by both the sushi kitchen in front of me and the kitchen further back. The chefs placed a lot of care in the preparation and presentation of each dish which definitely drove up my expectations of a good meal.

I am happy to say that my expectations were exceeded.

I had King Prawn Omurice that while arguably a bit expensive, the taste and quality of the dish was exceptional. The tomato flavoured rice was pleasant and didn’t leave an overbearing tomato aftertaste. The omelette felt soft and worked really well with the rice underneath and there was plenty of delicious prawns (not minced) mixed in inside the rice.

I also had a Yuzu+ginger and sencha tea mocktail. The yuzu+ginger flavour was mild and left a pleasant aftertaste. I can definitely see this mocktail as being great with seafood or for someone who is looking for a light refreshing drink.

I enjoyed my time at Kanade and definitely see myself coming back for some good Japanese fusion food or a nice refreshing drink (Kanade has a good selection of beverages and various...